He was born February 17, 1925 in Pingree Grove, IL, the 6th son of Alice & John Thurnau. He graduated from Edison Technical Institute in Seattle and served in the Army in the South Pacific in WWII from 1943 to the end of the war in 1946. Upon his return home, he married Helen Grisham of Illinois, on April 25, 1946. On their honeymoon they traveled by train to Seattle where they made their home. Dick worked for Mack Trucks starting as a mechanic and working his way up to Manager of Service Engineering for the Mack Western Division in Hayward, California. He retired in 1980 with 30 years of service, moving back to Seattle & the home he bought in 1948. He loved woodworking and made many beautiful things for family and friends. He worked tirelessly for his group called Friends of Hicklin Lake to clean up the lake water and the surrounding park & neighborhoods. He was also an ardent supporter of TAF (Technology Access Foundation, a school which teaches young people about technology), which is now located at the edge of the Lakewood Park Property. He will truly be missed by many.

He is also survived by Marcia Wollam, a significant partner with Dick and who has assisted him with his community efforts, especially with the Floating Islands that are now part of Hicklin Lake.

A memorial service will be held at 2 pm, Friday, May 9th, at the Technology Access Foundation Building, 605 SW 108th, Seattle, WA 98146. To honor Dick and in lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be sent to TAF at the same address.

A memorial and reception are planned in White Center on March 15th for Robert “Bob” McCoy, who died this week at age 81:

Robert “Bob” McCoy passed away March 3, 2014, with his family by his side.

Bob was a resident of West Seattle for 50-plus years. He started his career at Forest Lawn Funeral Home in 1964 and retired in 1998. He was a member of the White Center Eagles.

Bob was born February 2, 1933, in Seattle, to Harold and Jessie McCoy. He was raised in Kent and attended Kent Meridian High School. He is survived by his wife Ilene of 60 years, daughter Debra and her husband Joe Ruskamp, daughter Linda and her husband Michael McGee, daughter Barbara, son John, and daughter Pam and her husband Cary Hood, 10 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, and his brother Jack McCoy of Vancouver, Washington. He was preceded in death by his sister Helen and his brother Phillip.

A funeral Mass is planned at Holy Family this Wednesday morning for 84-year-old Theodore (Ted) John Wiese:

Ted went home to the Lord 9-19-13 at the age of 84. Born in Woodburn, Oregon, in 1929, he married Doris Marie Prinslow on October 2, 1954, after being honorably discharged as a corporal from the Marine Corps and attending OSU. He retired from The Boeing Company after 26 years and was ordained to the Diaconate, serving the Archdiocese of Seattle for the past 24 years at Holy Family Parish in White Center.

He is survived by his wife Doris, sister Jeanette Moore, his children Connie (Richard) Sanders, Larry Wiese, Greg Wiese, Julie (Bruce) Hanson, Lisa (Karl) Hansen, Tom (Wendy) Wiese, Margaret (Jeff Haack) Wiese, and Paul Wiese, 10 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild. Mass of the Christian Burial will be at Holy Family Church at 11:00 am September 25. To leave an online condolence, please visit Yaringtons.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ted’s memory to Catholic Community Services or Holy Family Parish.

(WCN publishes obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to whitecenternow@gmail.com)

Family and friends are remembering longtime florist Laurie Rosenthal, 66, this weekend. (You might remember her from the now-closed White Center shop South End Florist.) Here’s the remembrance her family shared:

Laurie Jean Rosenthal, was born to Louis and Leona Hostak on December 31, 1946 and passed away after a short battle with cancer on May 1, 2013.

Laurie was a faithful, loving and passionate daughter, mother, aunt, grandmother and friend. She stayed in the Seattle area all of her life, and was a popular florist at Fran’s Flowers and South End Florist for many years. She will be remembered for her great sense of humor, practical jokes, love of animals, and most of all, her love of family. She adored the love of her life Lonnie, her son Joe and daughter-in-law Debbie, and her son Tony and daughter-in-law Tina. She also loved teasing her brothers and their wives Jim and Mary and Don and Myrna. She was preceded in death by her brother Bob.

She especially loved her grandchildren Anthony, Joshua and Katie. Anytime Josh and Anthony had a baseball game, you would find her in the stands cheering as loud as she could. She never missed a game! She also enjoyed camping and ice cream with Katie. Her numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins were near and dear to her heart. Lana and Bev were her dearest friends and she loved them and their families with all of her heart. She loved all of her many friends and cherished each friendship. All who knew her, loved her and will greatly miss her.

An open house to celebrate Laurie’s life will be held on Saturday, May 4 at 1pm in Enumclaw. Contact Tony at tlrosenthal@comcast.net for details.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in her name to your favorite animal charity.